A Long Road
by Code Awesome
Summary: Naruto has been gone for 5 years and has learned new fighting styles and abilities from a land far away. War and loss has taught him maturity and has left him effected for the rest of his life. How will he deal with his life in Konoha after all he has been through? Naruto/Knight i may incorporate a love interest later in the story.
1. Chapter 1

A Long Road

A Naruto fan fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch1 The Gates of Konoha

He walked toward the gates of Konoha. It had been a long time since he had seen it. The giant proud walls of his home seemed the same as when he had left. He stopped to admire the view; everything was different now. He had grown from the spastic ball of energy he once was and had matured into a strong individual.

He thought of Jiraiya and how he wished he could be here now. It would be hard to break the news to Tsunade but he would have to manage somehow. Not to mention explaining why he had been gone for so long after he was due to return. Perhaps they thought he and Jiraiya were dead and everyone had moved on long ago. I didn't matter now, he was back and he was sure that they had not lost faith in him.

Although he would not be surprised if they didn't recognize him at first glance. now he dressed in mostly black. A stark change from the orange that had followed him most of his life. He ad also ditched the jumpsuit as well, replaced with a pinch black trench coat that hung a little loose on him, it fell down just below his knees and the collar kicked up above his chin. Under that was dark stained chainmail that closely fit his figure, the tiny rings were barley visible unless you looked closely.

Most of his right arm up to his shoulder and the outer part of his left were covered in dark plate armor. His hands were much the same set with gantlets. The left looked like it was made for tearing flesh and breaking bone as several pieces of pointed steel jutted out from each knuckle and each finger tip looked sharp enough to cut through thin metal. The right was much simpler, basic black steel covered his hand. Both of the steel gloves disappeared under his coat at the rist.

He sighed deciding he had taken in the scenery long enough. When he approached the gate he was stopped by the two guards stationed there. "Stop there." One said "May I see your passport or some other ID?" instead Naruto flashed his headband that he had worked into the plate on his upper right arm. The guards looked at each other for a moment then at Naruto strangely, they obviously didn't recognize him. He had grown a little bit of stubble on his chin and there was a small scar that went from the start of his first whisker to the middle of his thered on his left side. But besides that he looked similar to how he did years ago.

"What's your name?" the guard spoke up. "Naruto Uzumaki." Both of the guards still didn't seem to know of him. "Sorry if you want to get into the village we'll send someone to confirm who you are." "That's fine."

He had wanted to surprise Taunade with his return but this would be fine. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face. Actually on second thought he could. As it just dawned on him that Tsunade had thinly hidden anger issues and immeasurable strength.

Naruto had noticed by now that there more then a few guards that had appeared and were watching him now from a distance. He wasn't to surprised at that, his weapons did look quite formidable. The sword he carried on his back was about 130 cm long and it had a straight edge. Certainly not a common weapon around here. Clipped onto his belt were two combat knives and a rather bulky revolver as well as a small book that hung from a worn string.

The bag he had carried over his shoulder could be completely filled with explosive tags for all they knew. It was probably going to be a while before Tsunade got there she would want to meet him in person, but with the knowledge of how much she drank Shizune would have a hard time wakening her. Naruto decided to sit agenst the gate and rest his eyes while he waited the walk here had been a tiring one.

…

"Naruto?" he opened his eyes to Tsunade standing there a little dumb struck. "Tsunade! It's been so long!" Naruto had now gotten to his feet but only took three steps before she embraced him. "I'm sorry that it took me so long to get back here." He managed to say while struggling for air. She let go of him and a warm smile formed on her face.

POW! She had punched him so hard in the gut that it had sent him flying back into the gate. Now sitting on the ground he let a grone escape his lips. "Apology accepted." Naruto would have replied but he was having a hard time caching his breath so instead he just wheezed silently.

"What is Jiraiya's excuse for keeping you two years longer then he was suppose to? Is he even going to tell me in person or are you going to deliver his message for him." "Tsunade…" Naruto tried to interrupt but she kept talking over him. " the next time I see him I swear to god ill-" "Tsunade!" she hadn't expected such a tone from him and it caught her of guard. They looked at each other for a moment Naruto look like he couldn't bring himself to say something. Tsunade suddenly felt a pit in her stomach. "He's gone."

Her mouth fell open for a second and then she shut it again. There was a pause for a long time. She looked like she couldn't decide what expression to use. After a long while all she said was "I see."Naruto let the notion sink in for a bit "He cared for you very much." Naruto said his tone soothing. "I know." She said as she and smiled bitterly.

"Naruto I'm sorry. I realize you just got back but I need some time alone." "I understand." Naruto put a hand on her shoulder gently then walked away. He hadn't got far before he heard her crying, he glanced back to too see that she was on her knees hands cupped to her face.

...

This is my first fan fiction so please go easy on me. Constructive criticism is welcome.

If you would like to leave an idea for the story that's fine.

Some of the details may be changed later.

Thanks for reading!

Code Awesome out!


	2. Chapter 2

A Long Road Ch 2

A Naruto fan fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch2 The Demon

Walking along the streets of Konoha Naruto was a little disappointed. He wasn't sure what to expect when he returned to his home, all he could say about this place was that it had changed. He supposed that it was brighter in his memories than it actually was in real life. It had been so long that he nearly forgot what it looked like; all he could remember was the happy feeling he had associated with it. Not to say that all his memories of this place were happy ones. There had been some truly terrible nights that he wished he could forget.

Distracted in his thoughts Naruto had neglected to look where he was going. "Hey! Watch were your going!" she yelled at him "Sorry about that." Naruto insisted but it didn't seem to calm her. "Look what you did! I just bought that!" Realizing that he had nocked fresh dango out of her hand. "Are you going to pay for that!" She was looking like she would be happy to beat the money out of him. Fearing the worst he quickly pulled out his wallet and held out enough for two servings. "I'm truly sorry about that. Here you are." "Damn right your sorry." She said grabbing the money away from him.

"Anko are you harassing civilians again?" Kurenai said as she stepped out of the shop. "This asshole knocked my food on the ground." Anko proclaimed still pissed. "I said I was sorry." Naruto defended becoming a little ticked at her attitude. Kurenai interrupted hoping to cool Anko "Ho Naruto! I barley recognized you. Welcome back. When did you return from your trip?" "Just earlier today in fact. I was just heading to my apartment." "Well I wont keep you from settling in after all this time away. But if you feel like caching up with team 8 we are having a drink at Red Door at around 9. It's a new place just down from Ichiraku." Kurenai offered. "Thanks but ill-" "WAIT one fucking second! I'm still not done with this little shit!" Anko blared with a fury's tone.

Kurenai was persistent in trying to make Anko calm but she would have none of it, and somewhere in the disturbance they started to argue with each other. Anko gave Naruto a look that would have made most grown men scared. In the end Naruto managed to slip away without Anko noticing. He had never met someone that was so passionate about dango. Maybe he could understand if it had been ramen, but dango?

When he got to his apartment he almost passed out on the nearest chair despite it being early in the afternoon. He hadn't slept the night before and walked throughout the early hours because of the excitement that had overwhelmed him for the day that had passed. However now all he felt was tired. He managed to make it to his room and barley managed to strip off his armor. He fell back on his bed and stared up at the roof, even thou his head was almost at the backboard his feet hung off the end. He would need to buy a new bed. Naruto was tired beyond belief but he still could not find sleep. He felt bittersweet about the day. Returning home, Tsunade crying and returning without Jiraiya. His head fell to his side where he stared at the photo of his old team. He smiled as he fell asleep.

…

Naruto woke surprisingly refreshed witch was unusual because according to the clock it had only been about an hour after he fell asleep. Realizing that the battery's had been dead for a number years he looked outside. It was dark, possibly around 9 or 10. He sighed and rubbed his eyes as he walked to the kitchen. Looking around, his apartment seemed to be in a state of disrepair. Had it always been this way? Thinking back he had never noticed. He would need to deal with that later, his stomach growled and he decided it had been far to long since he had visited his favorite place to eat.

As he approached Ichiraku he noticed that it had grown in size the five years that he was away. He took a seat beside one of the other patrons and called "One miso pork please!" Ayame came from the back and was instantly shocked to see Naruto sitting at the counter. "NARUTO! I'm so glad to see that your back!" she said leaning over to give him a hug. He had always seen her as an older sister and she saw him as a younger brother. "Nice scar by the way, how did you get it? Ho and why were you gone so long? I bet you have a tone of stories to tell. Wait here for a second ill go tell my dad your back. FATHER!" Ayame yelled as she went into the back of the shop. Naruto sat there for a few seconds mouth slightly agape. She had been so excited she hadn't let him get a word in. All the same he smiled at the fact she was happy to see him, Ayame had been one of his only true friends when he was younger.

Teuchi walked out followed by his daughter and greeted him with a warm smile. "Naruto it's been ages! How was your training trip with Jiraiya?" "It had its ups and downs." Naruto said obviously avoiding the question. "Well you'll need to tell us about it some time, but for now what can I get for you? On the house!" The old man offered. "One Miso Pork thanks." "Coming right up!"

"Ahhh." Naruto sighed with a full stomach. Chances were that he wouldn't get to sleep tonight without some exercise, due to his early rest. Just then he noticed a bright neon sign that said "The Red Door" remembering the invite that Kurenai had offered he decided that it couldn't hurt to catch up with some old friends.

As Naruto approached the bar he noticed that true to its name the place had a big red door. He assumed that this was one of those hip new places that everyone hung out at. Naruto made his way inside and despite his initial impression of the place it seemed pretty dead. It looked like ninja mostly occupied the tables, witch may have explained why there were no civilians. He managed to spy team 8 sitting near the back of the place, they were accompanied by Choji and Ino.

As Naruto approached the table Ino was the first to notice. "Hey Naruto's here!" everyone turned to greet him. "Hey Naruto how's life?!" Choji yelled, and Naruto could tell he was already drunk. Everyone seemed to greet him the same way, except for Hinata who just blushed. "Perfect timing we just got here a few minutes ago." Ino said. "Looking at Choji I wouldn't have guessed it." Naruto said jokingly. All seemed to find it funny except Choji "Hey! They serve some strong stuff here y'know." Kurenai poured everyone a saucer of sake including Naruto. They all yelled "Banzai!" as they took the shot. Hinata and Kiba both gaged at the potent blend. Ino giggled at this "You guys want something less strong? I'm sure they have something around 5 proof in the back." (2.5 Alcohol) "I can handle it! The Inuzuka are the best drinkers in the village!" Kiba said proudly. Ino rolled her eyes, "Do you always need to make everything into a competition?" they all poured another shot except for Naruto, preferring to take out his own flask to pour. "Cant handle it Naruto? I could tell that you aren't a big drinker!" Kiba said challenging him "Actually I find that it's not strong enough." "Bullshit! If you can handle it then just say so!" Naruto grinned to himself and poured Kiba a saucer. Without hesitation he downed it, although it didn't want to stay down. He imminently spat it out in a not so fine mist, and coughed violently. "HOLY CHRIST!" he managed to get out. Kurenai turned to Naruto "How strong is that stuff?" as soon as he had stopped laughing Naruto said "Lets just say its an alcoholic's wet dream."

"Man youu musst have one helll of a tolerance." Choji said in a slurred tone. "Well I don't want to brag but I think I could give Tsunade a run for her money." "Care to test that?" Naruto turned to see that Tsunade herself walking over to the table. Fearing he would regret saying something different he quickly replied "No mam!" Even Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle at that.

…

They had continued well into the morning and everyone had a blast, but Naruto had decided it was time to leave. Before he could say something Hinata got up and said her goodbyes. She didn't look like she would make it the entire way to her home. She only got a few steps before she tripped over her own feet. Naruto was quick despite having a few to many himself and caught her before she had fallen to far. "Watch your step." I-I'm sorry about that Naruto!" She said with a deep red blush. "No problem, just let me walk you home." Hinata looked at him in the eyes for a moment and he looked back. They stared at each other for more then a few seconds both a little shocked. He hadn't meant for it to sound like that. "S-s-s-sure." she looked down at the floor with a deeper blush on her face than before.

The walk to the Hyuga compound was a silent one. Hinata kept her arm around Naruto for balance and he held her at the waist, it still didn't keep her from losing balance a few times but Naruto was there to catch her. When they arrived at the gate there was a long uncomfortable silence and neither of them made eye contact. "Thanks N-Naruto." She spoke in a hushed tone. "It was no problem" she turned to leave but after a few steps stopped. "N-Naruto?" "Ya?" "Uuum… I've been worried since I s-saw you at the bar." "Why would you be worried?" "Because… I can't see your chakra…" Naruto stood there for a moment as if he wasn't sure what to say next. "It's a long story. Ide rather not talk about it right now." "Ok… W-well ill see you later." "See you Hinata." Naruto started to walk away down the street, Hinata's eyes followed him until he was out of site.

Naruto wasn't sure what to expect. He knew he wouldn't be able to hide things forever but he didn't expect this would come out so soon. How much longer could he keep this façade that nothing was different. So much had happened in the last few years, so many things he wished that he could change. But that is not how life worked. Most often there was no second chance.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden and unexpected kick to the side of the head knocking him into an ally. "I said I wasn't done with you. Remember?" the figure said, Naruto had instantly recognized the voice. "Anko you crazy bitch! What the hell?" "Hahaha! This is going to be fun." Naruto could tell that this wasn't about what had happen earlier, by the look in her eyes he saw this was just for fun.

A combination of the alcohol and the fact that she had been bothering him all day turned into something that he had not felt in a very long time. Pure rage. He moved faster then she thought was possible grabbing her by the throat and throwing her agents the wall. Her head cracked on impact and as he held her there he felt couldn't stop. Dazed from the impact he doubted that she even knew what was happening. All he would need to do is tighten his grip and her neck would snap. He was definitely strong enough to do it. She started to gasp for air his eyes seemed to light up as she clawed at his arms. "What am I doing?" He let go and she slumped to the ground.

He made his way back to his apartment and on sat on his couch. Moving to his bag he started to unpack his things. He uncovered a box of about 20cm by 10cm. As he opened it he took a second to stair at the contents. Dog tags almost filled it to the brim. He couldn't look away and a tear rolled down his face. He would never let that happen again.

…

Thanks for reading.

The more reviews that I get the faster I will come out with the next chapters

Currently I don't have a Beta reader to edit for me if you would like to volunteer you can PM me.

If you have an idea for the story I would be glad to hear it .

Code Awesome out!


	3. Chapter 3

A Long Road Ch 3

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 3 Run!

3 Months after Naruto left Konoha.

Naruto was having a hard time believing that this was the man that had trained the forth Hokage. In the few months that he had left to train with Jiraiya only a few days were put aside for Naruto. The old sage had spent most of his free time chasing women and Naruto had been fed up with the situation for quite some time.

"Yo, old perv! When you going t' teach me some new moves!" Naruto yelled impatiently at Jiraiya "When you've mastered the rasengan ill teach you more." "I have you lazy fart! Its all I've been doing since we left!" "Fine if you stop yelling ill teach you something when we reach the next village!" With that they both walked in silence.

They had both been testing each other's patience for a long time now and Naruto had been wondering if he could have learned more if he had stayed at Konoha with Kakashi. Still, as long as he was with Jiraiya he had a feeling he would learn important life lessons; like leaving your wallet with a stripper or giving a hooker the key to your apartment. Naruto couldn't imagine what was going through his head most of the time, not that he would have wanted to.

By the time they arrived at the village it was dark and Jiraiya insisted that Naruto's lesson would have to wait until morning. Naruto was having a hard time sleeping he was restless at the thought of what he would learn. Jiraiya woke up abruptly and looked around the room. "Naruto we're leaving." Jiraiya said in a serous tone worrying Naruto. "What?" "We're leaving right now." He got up and started packing his things quickly. Naruto was still a little confused by the situation "Jiraiya what's happening?" Naruto was starting to panic and Jiraiya noticed. "Naruto ill explain everything soon but for now go and take only your essentials."

Naruto grabbed everything that he could and put them in a storage seal. Jiraiya pulled out some explosive tags and stuck them by the creases on the door. "Naruto we need to leave out the window." Naruto stood by the window waiting for Jiraiya to finish packing. "Hey! Your not allowed to bring those weapons inside!" they could hear the owner yelling down stairs "Their here." Jiraiya said in a hushed tone sticking a few more tags on the door. Naruto could hear a scuffle and then the sickening crunch of bone. Jiraiya turned to Naruto and said, "Jump to roof of the next building. Ill be right behind you." Naruto was frightened; he had never seen Jiraiya act like this before. "Go!" at that Naruto jumped. He landed just in time to turn and see the apartment erupt in flame. The walls near the window blew out completely and rubble pelted his face. Jiraiya had got out just in time avoid the blast but wasted no time. "RUN!"

Naruto started to go as fast as his feet could carry him; he didn't look back for fear that he might trip. His eyes darted from side to side looking for a danger he couldn't see. Within a few minutes they reached the edge of the small town and darted into the forest. They both stopped to rest before they had to run again. "Wh—who were they?" "They call themselves the Akatsuki," he said trying to catch his breath "now come on Naruto, this isn't over yet." Just then a man wearing a black robe with red clouds walked out from seemingly nowhere. "Y'know for a old man and a kid you sure can run." The man in question resembled a fish with a giant sword on its back, with blue skin and gills he was a very surprising site. Naruto felt the urge to run but he knew it would be safer with Jiraiya. Yo, kid come with us now and we will let him live." "Us?" Jiraiya questioned. Darting out of the trees behind them was another man wearing the same outfit, only this one had the eyes of an Uchiha.

This caught Jiraiya off guard and almost didn't notice the fish-man charging at him, sword in hand. He managed to jump to the side just in time to avoid the blow. The old sage then realized that the attack was directed at Naruto. Like Jiraiya Naruto managed to dodge by jumping into a tree; but he had not expected a follow up so soon. He could have been killed by the strange man if not for Jiraiya who tackled Naruto onto the ground. Getting up as fast as he could he preformed a series of hand signs. The surrounding forest came alive as pink moist flesh sprouted from everywhere and consumed their adversaries.

Naruto noticed that Jiraiya was holding his side and panting heavily. "Are you alright?!" On closer inspection he noticed that blood was running down his side like a stream. "Jiraiya!" Naruto called "Ill be fine Naruto. Listen take these kuni and explosive tags and run until you can't move a muscle. You got that?" he said calmly "WHAT? I'm not leaving you here! Lets go together while there distracted!" "That wont work Naruto. I'm sorry this is what needs to happen… ill find you later when I'm done with these two. Ok?" a gentle smile appeared and Naruto knew what was about to happen but still he couldn't move from that spot.

The cocoon that had surrounded their enemies erupted in a black flame. "GO!" Naruto didn't have a second of hesitation about him as he took off running into the forest. Jiraiya looked at the direction Naruto had gone. "You will understand someday this is the way it had to be."

…..

Thanks for reading.

I was thinking that the next few chapters would be like this and then I alternate between the two parts to this story as it continues.

The more reviews that I get the faster I will come out with the next chapters

Currently I don't have a Beta reader to edit for me if you would like to volunteer you can PM me.

If you have an idea for the story I would be glad to hear it .

Code Awesome out!


	4. Chapter 4

A Long Road Ch 4

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 4 One Month

…..

I would like to apologize for the last chapter. I would have done a better job but I was rushing myself.

….

4 months after Naruto left Konoha.

Running he needed to keep running. His feet hurt beyond belief but he needed to keep going, he couldn't slow himself even for a second. If he hesitated for even a moment it would all be for nothing. He couldn't let that happen, Jiraiya would have wanted him to survive. With one last jump he took the dear from above and plunged the kuni into its neck. (What did you think was happening?)

That was close. He had been tracking it all day and if this one got away it may have been a few more days until he ate again. It started to rain. He would need to find shelter somewhere and start a fire. He hadn't taken a permanent place to sleep since Jiraiya had been killed. No not killed. He refused to give up hope in the old man; he was one of the sennin after all. Until Jiraiya found him he would continue to head west. Although it had been a month, and Naruto's conviction was starting to grow thin.

He found a small cliff with an indentation in the side. It would work to shelter him from the rain unless the wind started to pick up. He made a fire and started to clean the dear. He could use a good cleaning himself actually it had been a long time since he had a hot shower or bath. What he would give to find a hot spring. The rain started to come down harder now and it brought him out of his thoughts. He would need to cook as much dear as he could before he went to sleep.

He knew that the day to come would be same as the last; nothing but silence and checking the sun to make sure he was heading in the right direction. But he couldn't stop. Not until Jiraiya came to get him. But what if he didn't? What if he had died that night in the forest? How would he know when he was safe? The thought was a useless one, for the time being he would keep heading west and hope for the best. If his mentor was dead the men who called them selves the Akatsuki would find him soon.

When he had first left Konoha Jiraiya had told him about the demon inside him. That was the only thing that Naruto could think of that had any value to anyone. He had never had anything of real connections to anyone aside from a few people in his class. In fact most of the village had shunned him from almost everything in the village. Not that he had let that get him down, he was happy most of the time. Of course now he couldn't say he had much joy in his life. For the past month he hadn't seen a glimpse of civilization and he thought he might be going a little stir crazy. He had never heard of anyone living this far outside the continent, home to the five grate Kages. But he supposed it wasn't impossible. After he was finished with the dear a wave of exhaustion washed over him. When he had some food he would need to get some sleep. After all, there was another long walk ahead of him tomorrow.

….

It was mid day but it still wasn't warm out; it was hard to tell if he was getting farther north or if it was just winter approaching. Either way if he was planning to be out here much longer it would be a good idea to head south. He reached a clearing and found small pond in the center. That was good; he had been running low on water for two day's and was forced to conserve it. He stopped at the water line and knelt down fill his canteen. He took a long drink and filled it up once more. Cupping his hands he lifted the water to his face. It felt good after all this time to feel the soothing sensation running down his face and neck. He cupped his hands and dipped then into the water eager for another taste.

"Would you like to know if he begged for his life?" The water fell through his fingers as the fear griped his chest. He stood up as fast as he could. Consternating the chakra into his feet he made a dash for the other side of the pond not daring to look back. From the volume at witch he spoke Naruto could tell he just entered the clearing. Naruto was grateful for the small head start but it didn't help him much.

He had only started sprinting on the other side of the pond when he felt his legs knocked out from under him. He was paralyzed and gasping for air; somehow he had taken what seemed like all the chakra out of his body. He stared up from his back at Kisame the same man that he had encountered earlier with Jiraiya. "I've got to hand it to you punk, I really can't believe that you had me chasing you for a month. You got some skill ill give you that." He picked Naruto up by the collar and spoke again "Y'know if you had just dodged that second attack I through at you my partner wouldn't be the only one dead by now. I'm not ashamed to admit that if your master hadn't been injured I may be dead right now to. But he had obviously didn't teach you that if you screw up your team can pay with there lives. Ho! Before I knock you out would you like to know how he pleaded for his life?" he laughed manically. "Do you ever shut up?" Naruto spat at him. "You are going to pay for that." He dropped Naruto and kneed him in the stomach as he fell. Naruto was once again gasping for air as he rolled on the ground.

"Hahaha! I'm actually glad that I get to knock you around a little. Your master did a number on my left." he said as he kick Naruto in the chest. He would have rolled across the ground at the impact but Kisame was stepping on his hand. Naruto felt like he going to pass out, his vision was getting blurry and everything in his body was in pain. "Do you always kick children?" He turned to see a man clad in black armor wearing a trench coat.

"You gonna' do something about it?" Kisame called, challenging him. "If you persist I may have to." He said as he drew he strait sword. "Nice blade, but how do you expect to win without any chakra?" the dark figure didn't flinch but advanced on him. Naruto had never seen someone move that fast with only one hand on a heavy sword like that. The fight was defiantly one sided as the mysterious man forced his opponent back to the water line. They both stopped swinging their swords at each other and paused. "Do you still wish to continue?" he spoke a confidant tone to his voice. "You cocky bastard!" the water behind him jumped up and the man in black took a few steps back. He did not retreat any further but instead stuck out his left hand. The water didn't come within a meter of him as it had evaporated. Naruto could see by the ripples in the air that it had been super heated to dispel the dangerous attack. Kisame retreated to the center of the pond but this did not slow him down. As he walked onto he water it turned to ice giving him the ability to walk over to his enemy. Then raising his sword into the air he came down on him with tremendous force. The fish-man's attempt to block was futile as the impact bashed the sword from his hand.

Kisame wasn't sure how long he could keep this up with his chakra reserves so low. He needed to get around him to reach Naruto so he could replenish his power. He jumped for his blade narrowly missing a strike from his adversary. Maybe if he could take some of this mans power it would work as a substitute for the time being. Kisame made a desperate attempt to swing at his enemy without consideration for his own self-preservation. The gamble paid as the man blocked the possibly fatal blow instead of jumping out of the way. Kisame saw his chance and pushed with all his strength. The man had to regain his footing but before he had the opportunity the water under his feet raised at an ungodly speed. Completely submerged and disoriented he was at Kisame's mercy. With all the force that the fish-man could muster he swung and made contact with the helpless mans mid section.

The power was overwhelming as it shot up his arm; he had never felt something so raw and complete as this. It was exhilarating and perfect like a shot of adrenalin strait to his heart. He lifted his fist at the man that had almost defeated him ready to unleash this new found power.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the ear splitting shriek mixed with chakra hit him like a ton of bricks. He turned to see three great tails spill out of Naruto; how had he not notice the great amount of chakra rising out of him? "This is for Jiraiya!" he yelled as he charged at Kisame. Naruto was seconds from tearing into him when he stuck out his palm. The force was so strong that it propelled Naruto into the tree line leaving nothing but a crater where he had stood moments before.

Kisame looked down at his palm. The skin had been torn away leaving nothing but exposed muscle and bone. "Shit." He muttered to himself. This obviously wasn't something that he could just play with; if he wasn't carful he might end up losing his entire hand. Then he began to feel empty inside he needed more of this power. He looked over to see that the mysterious individual had disappeared from his apparent resting place. A quick look around showed that he was nowhere in site. The tree line erupted in flame, as Naruto came flying out like a bat out of hell. His tails were now five and the chakra he was emitting was setting most of he dry grass on fire. Any control that Naruto had was completely lost now. He was nothing more than rage incarnate.

Kisame ran at Naruto eager to strip him of one of his tails. Naruto ran at him as well, however he had underestimated his speed and skill. As Naruto swiped at him with a claw Kisame ducked avoiding him with ease, then with a flick of his sword he had caught one of his tails and ripped it free. To his surprise he couldn't absorb it through his sword. "Common you stupid thing work!" he then noticed something that he hadn't before. All the chakra was seeping out of his body. Kisame was so caught up in revelation that he hadn't notice Naruto come up behind him for another go. His back was sliced open in three places and he was sent rolling on the ground.

He couldn't move the pain was to great. It was the most agonizing thing he had ever felt in his life. Kisame made it to his knees and sat there for a moment just staring off onto space. He took in a slow and jagged breath and let out a scream that could have made a hardened warrior cringe. Naruto walked up to Kisame and slashed his neck open. He didn't seem to notice as he was occupied with his yelling. Well now it was more like a loud gargling noise. In his last few moments Kisame life were filled with a pain only a couple of people had the misfortune of knowing.

The demon inside of Naruto could no longer use his sorrow and rage now that Kisame was dead. As the fox sunk into his cage Naruto could not hold onto his consciousness and as the darkness filled the corners of his eyes the last thing he saw was the man in black.

…

Once again thank you for reading!

I have made a commitment to at the least get two chapters done a week. But if you would like to see more then that favorite, follow or comment. (it helps get me pumped for the next chapter.)

Sorry it took me so long to get that little bit of fighting into the story. I have never done a fight scene before so I've been avoiding it.

If someone would like to Beta my story that would help a lot. So if you are interested just PM me.

The next chapter I will get back to the main story line.


	5. Chapter 5

A Long Road Ch 5

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 5: Skill? OVER 9000!

Tsunade was going through her fifth pile of paperwork that morning. It had been piling up for about a week now. When she heard that Jiraiya had died she had almost stopped functioning, retreating into alcohol and old photographs. Deciding that she had procrastinated long enough her mission was to complete all the work that was missed in the days past. There were still twelve more stacks to do and even if she only had to sign her name for most of it Tsunade's pace was starting to slow.

Letting her mind wander she wondered where Naruto could be. She had not seen him in since they met at the gate a week ago, and apparently none of the people he would normally be seen with had talked to him in a while. Perhaps when Sakura returned from her mission with ANBU today she would check up on him at his apartment.

"Shizune!" Tsunade called in a heavy tone. Shizune walked in moments later with a clipboard in hand, "Yes lady Hokage?" "Could you give a message to Sakura telling her that Naruto has returned when she arrives?" "Actually she was here a few minutes ago to get her pay, I mentioned it to her then and she headed strait to see him." "Good. That will be all Shizune."

…..

Sakura walked with a quick pace as she headed to Naruto's place. When she heard that he had come back to the village she knew that she had to speak with him. Mostly to catch up on what he had been up to over the past five years, but also to talk about when he would be ready to go after Sasuke. She felt she had waited long enough for Naruto to fulfill his promise and bring him back to his home so that they could be together.

As Sakura approached his building she couldn't stop from noticing its warn down state. It reminded her of Naruto's apartment in a way, cluttered, not well kept and there were multi coloured stains on almost all surfaces. She walked up the flight of stairs and down the hall to reach his door. The door was open so she let herself in. the place was much nicer than she remembered it to be with freshly painted walls and new furniture. She could here movement from the kitchen "Naruto?" she called. There was no response so she walked over to see what was happening.

Naruto had not even noticed her come in and walk up behind him. He was sitting at the kitchen table apparently working on some long metal contraption. Sakura peered over his shoulder to get a good look at what he was doing, witch was apparently fiddling with the inner mechanism. "What is that thing?" she said casually. Naruto was so focused on his project that he almost jumped out of his skin when she spoke. A small spring flew across the room and he cursed as the tiny metal pieces fell into the bowels of the machine. "You scared the shit out of me." He said a little flustered that his hard work was for nothing. "Sorry I didn't mean to mess up your thing. (if you know what I mean) I just wanted to say welcome back and see how you were doing." She said apologetically while picking up the pieces on the floor. "Ya well sorry for snapping at you like that, I've been working in this all day." "What is it anyway?" "Oh, well it's a long range projectile weapon." He explained to her. "It doesn't look like anything I've ever seen." Sakura said now more curious. "Well probably not it's pretty rare to see one even in places where this stuff is common. I had to build this one from scratch and even had to make most of the parts myself."

"Well it looks complicated, I hope for your sake that it's effective in combat." She looked around the room scrutinizing the details. "How did you afford all this new stuff? I thought you only got here a week ago." She questioned him. "I have a lot of extra cash that I've saved from my trip and I figured I may as well spend it now that I'm back." Naruto turned back to his project and managed to fish out everything he had dropped inside.

"Naruto…" Sakura spoke in a weak tone "I know that you just got back and everything, but I want to ask you when you are ready to retrieve Sasuke." Naruto didn't stop what he was doing and without turning to face her said. "Do you know anything about where he might be?" Sakura was taken back by his seeming lack of interest. "Hum... No we haven't had any information on that in a while." "When we know more we can go after him, no point in running out blindly hoping to stumble across a clue." Sakura wasn't sure how to respond, it was like he didn't care about Sasuke anymore. This seemingly offended her and she could feel the anger rising in her stomach. "If you aren't going to help your team mate and be a selfish prick then ill do it myself! But remember that he would have done the right thing and helped you." She said with true conviction in her voice. "I doubt that greatly." Naruto said never changing his tone. "How could you say that about him?! Don't you think you owe him for picking up your slack on all the missions?! He was always the one to save us when we needed it. Now can't you do the same?" Naruto rose from his chair unable to hold back any longer "Pull your head out of your ass of a minute and listen closely. Do you really believe that he would lift a finger to help anyone? He never cared about anything but himself. He tried to kill me and if you had been there to stop him he would have tried to kill you to. He is so obsessed with revenge that he betrayed the village and ran to Orochimaru. He is lost Sakura, the sooner you except that the better things will be." They both stood there for what seemed like forever. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes and ran out of the building without saying a word.

She needed to relies that it was a foolish dream to believe that they could just bring Sasuke back to the village like nothing had ever happened. He would need to answer for his crimes just like other missing ninja. The Hokage couldn't just stand by and except a traitor in to the village, both as a citizen of Konoha and as a politician it would be unacceptable. He didn't regret a word he had said, after all he had plenty of time to think about when he was away.

…

Later that day Naruto headed to the training ground, Tsunade had requested to see him for an exercise to evaluate his skill level. She had asked that he wear all of his gear and weapons to the training ground at noon. When he arrived Tsunade greeted him herself. "Are you ready Naruto? I called for Kakashi to join us about two hours ago so he should be here any time now." "That's a good idea, I should try it some time." Naruto laughed. "Naruto I need to ask, what kind of training did you get after Jiraiya… passed away?" Naruto paused for a moment thinking about the question "I was taken in by a warrior who taught me about many different forms of combat. I know how to fight with different types of blades, seals, hand-to-hand and how to use my power effectively." "Well it sounds like you know how to handle yourself, but still I hope you will be able to keep up with Kakashi." "Speak of the devil." Naruto said watching the man himself walk over to them.

"Naruto! You're looking well." "You to Kakashi. How have you been since I left?" "As good as can be expected." Kakashi replied. Tsunade cut in abruptly "Sorry to rush you both but I have a tone of paperwork to finish, so you'll need to catch up later. Are you both ready?" They nodded and took positions across the field from each other.

(I talked about almost all of Naruto's weapons and armor at the start of the story, but if you have forgotten here is a list. [ARMOR {Gantlets left one has spikes on the knuckles, complete arm and shoulder armorer trench coat with fine mesh chainmail under shirt.] [WEAPONS {A 130cm Long sword, two combat knives at the hip, book of seals and a two shot pistol])

"I'm ready when you are Naruto!" Kakashi yelled from a distance. Naruto grinned and pulled out his sword, Kakashi had no idea what was coming. They charged at each other as fast as they could, Kakashi drew a kuni from his pouch and held it in a reverse grip. Naruto made the first move swinging the giant blade faster then most would have guessed he could. The swing was a little high and Kakashi ducked under and stabbed the kuni at Naruto's gut. Using his forward momentum Naruto was able to through himself over Kakashi's crouched form rolling as he landed. Now facing away from each other they both turned quickly, Naruto blindly slashed with his sword as he faced Kakashi. It was a good move; the Cyclops was forced to jump back giving Naruto the advantage with his long sword.

It would be too hard for Kakashi to get close to Naruto as long as he had that sword on him. He would need to find a way to get it away from him. Naruto gave him no time to think of a plan as he ran at Kakashi full force. Kakashi retreated a safe distance and preformed some hand signs sending a massive fireball hurtling toward him. Naruto didn't avoid it at first, but without moving his feet he was propelled to the right by a seemingly invisible force. Kakashi was shocked; he hadn't seen Naruto use his hands to cast a jutsu. Summoning two shadow clones Kakashi then continued to through and abundance of kuni at Naruto. This to didn't seem to faze him in the slightest. Holding out his hand the knives seemed to hit a rubber wall as they went flying back in the opposite direction scattering across the battlefield.

Now that he concentrated he could feel no chakra coming from Naruto at first he was sure he was mistaken. Waiting for Kakashi to make his move Naruto slung his sword back into its sheath, he grabbed for the book of seals he kept in his belt and flipped it open. Kakashi advanced taking advantage of Naruto's opening however when Naruto lifted his hand he hesitated, expecting a blast from an invisible force. However the outcome was different from before, instead a circle formed in the air just smaller then the size of his palm. It glowed a dark purple and it began to sprout lines, Kakashi realized as the lines connected that Naruto was preforming a seal in mid air. He would only have a few more seconds before it was completed; acting quickly Kakashi put his hands together and yelled "Shadow clone lightning release!" Naruto's eyes grew wide when he looked over his shoulder to see one of Kakashi's clones behind him.

The explosion of lightning sent Naruto sprawling forward onto his front. As he got to his knees he looked up to see Kakashi at his doorstep advancing on him. Fortunately the seal had been completed not a moment before the explosion, and he now held it in his left hand. He swung outwards with the seal at Kakashi apparently trying to hit him with it. Kakashi was fast enough to avoid the labored strike by stepping back. Kakashi sighed with disappointment "Well nice tr-" All of a sudden out of the ground to the right of him erupted a stone pillar that took him in the side of the rib. It knocked him clear about four meters and Naruto couldn't help from saying "Sorry I couldn't hear that you need to speak up." Even with Kakashi gasping for breath Naruto swore that he heard a chuckle.

Both getting to there feet they took a long hard look at each other. The battle had reached a new level and they both knew it. Kakashi reached for his face and pulled down the cloth covering his Sharingan. Naruto with his free right hand took out his combat knife and switched it in an reverse hold, and raised the seal above his head. The pillar came from under his feet lifting him several meters into the air. Now with the stage set Naruto started to swing it around as if it were some kind of heavy object. As the pillars jumped out of the ground Kakashi's hand lit up with electricity and smashed them like they were made of chalk.

He understood that he couldn't keep this up forever, and he would need to get Naruto down from there before he could attack again. Naruto pushed him back to the other end of the field. The pillars stopped jutting out of the ground and Naruto had stopped trying to summon them. Kakashi looked at the distance between the.

It looked like 100m was the max range for the ability. He thought of what he had seen so far, 100m, one pillar at a time, two second delay and he would be open to close range attacks, how ever he had neglected to look at how the mysterious seal worked. But if he wanted to find out he would need to use his Sharingan closer to the target.

Getting into action, Kakashi summoned 20 shadow clones and they made a mad dash for Naruto's pillar. Naruto started as well picking them off one by one as they ran towards him. He wasn't fast enough however, as three clones and the original made it to the tower. One exploded in lightning taking a chuck out of the side, it began to tip and half way down Naruto jumped to the side gaining distance between them. The seal dissolved in his hand and he reached for his pistol. He had two shots before he would need to reload so he had to make them count. He raised it and pulled the trigger, the kickback was enough to break a normal persons hand but he had grown accustomed to it. The shadow clone had disappeared as Naruto hit him with 30mm of led. The second shot missed blowing a hole in one of the trees across from him.

He holstered his weapon and once again drew his combat knife into his right hand. The Kakashi clone came first and Naruto managed to parry the first strike, the original quickly followed with his own strike. Naruto managed to catch the kuni with his gantlet and pull it away, then the invisible force pulled him across the battle field. Now that he was clear he through the kuni at the clone and just as he had expected it exploded with a burst of electricity.

Kakashi seemed stunned; he had seen the invisible for that had propelled Naruto. It wasn't chakra. He had seen hundreds of almost invisible crystals form in the air around Naruto and each one had expanded to propel him to a safe distance. He was amazed and worried at the same time. There was no chakra in Naruto's body.

Naruto's hand began to glow like when he formed the seal, bit this time the light seemed to come from the back of his hand. Kakashi noticed that on the back of Naruto's left hand there was another seal similar to the one before. This time earth did not jut from the ground but his hand was engulfed in flame. Naruto rushed forward trying to make contact with the copy ninja. Two could play this game. Both of Kakashi's hands lit up with electricity. Naruto took a step back, he could not block with his metal knife.

"STOP!" Tsunade called from the sidelines. Both men had stopped dead in there tracks and holstered their weapons. The Kage stared on in awe, they both seemed to be evenly matched despite the years of experience Kakashi had over Naruto. To be honest Tsunade had been a little worried what would have happened if the battle had gone on much longer. "Naruto that was vary impressive." Tsunade said shocked at his skill. "Kakashi I will leave it to you to decide what Naruto's rank should be. I expect your conclusion by the end of the day." She said as she walked back to her office. If she was fast she may have been able to finish what work she had left for the day.

Kakashi pulled up the cloth to cover his Sharingan once more and looked over at Naruto. He had laid down in the grass tired from the battle that had past. "Naruto." He said in a serious tone. "Ya Kakashi?" "What was that power that you used?" Naruto looked over at him with a hesitant face. "It's called Dark Energy." "What does that mean?" Naruto debated with himself weather or not to tell Kakashi for a moment. "It's one of the few forms of pure energy that can accumulate within a person." Naruto said plainly. "That still doesn't help me understand." Getting up but not facing him Naruto simply walked off with a sour look on his face. Kakashi didn't bother to stop him; he knew Naruto wouldn't say anymore on the subject.

The one eyed man knew that he was strong enough to become a Jonin, but he wasn't sure if he was ready for the responsibility yet. He still had the rest of the day to decide but it would be a hard choice.

….

Thank you for reading my story once again.

I have made a commitment to at the very least get two chapters done a week. But if you would like to see more then that favorite, follow or comment.

If someone would like to Beta my story that would help a lot. So if you are interested just PM me


	6. Chapter 6

A Long Road Ch 6

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 6: The Ninja Inn

This chapter will be focusing on character development.

…

The week went by quickly for Naruto, with all he had been working on he had had no down time. Of course now that he was finished what would he do with his time? Earning a little money with missions could be helpful on that front, if only he knew what his new rank was. The battle with Kakashi yesterday went better then he expected, he could have ended it quickly with one shot from his gun but he didn't want to kill him. He would need to stop by Tsunade's office to check on his status today, but it was getting a little dark out and she may not even be there. It couldn't hurt to check and if Shizune were there maybe she would know where to find Tsunade.

Just like he thought Shizune was working late that night. "Hello Naruto. Are you looking for Tsunade?" "Ya, I was hoping to ask her about my promotion. Is she in right now?" "No she left a few hours ago. If you look at the Ninja Inn you may find her." "Tsunade at a bar? Doesn't sound like her." Naruto said dripping with sarcasm.

The bar in question was just down the road from the Kage office. It was three stories tall and smelled of urine, and aside from being a bar it also doubled as temporary housing for travelers with a budget. Naruto had heard that Tsunade frequented this place for it's ability to attract gamblers. Although Naruto reasoned that the patrons had started to visit more frequently since Tsunade started going, after all her ability to loose any bet was legendary.

As he approached the door Tsunade stumbled out almost falling on her face. "Just the woman I was looking for. What was the damage this time?" "Oh shut up. You can bust my balls later, but now we need to leave." From inside the bar Naruto could hear something along the lines of "Where did she go?!" "She owes me 10000!" and he could tell that she was in no condition to run from a mob of angry gamblers. Naruto let out a long breath and put Tsunade's arm over his shoulder then grabbing her mid section with one hand they were flung onto a low roof. Tsunade was startled at the sudden and powerful gust of air that hit her, knocking the air out of her lungs.

If she hadn't been disoriented from all the drinking she certainly was now. Pushing away from Naruto she leaned up agents a large vent sticking out of the roof. Tsunade seemed to be caught between caching her breath and vomiting. It truly made Naruto sad to see her in this state. Drunk, running from debts she couldn't pay in a thousand years and not to mention throwing up on a rooftop. He knew that that this was her way of coping with stress, but Naruto hoped that she could find a less destructive way to do it.

Tsunade was finally able to collect herself and stand to face Naruto. "What the fuck? Warn me next time you do something like that." "Sorry about that, it's always a lot worse when your drunk." Lifting her arm over his shoulder for support again she said "Just get me home so I can sleep." "Fine, lets get down from here."

…

They hadn't talked much on the way over and when thy arrived she silently walked over to the door fumbling with her keys. After several attempts to fit it in the lock Naruto stepped into help. Taking the keys from her hand he was able to find the correct one. As he was about to turn the lock he noticed that the metal around the deadbolt was scratched beyond belief. This was obviously not the first time Tsunade had been like this, it probably wouldn't be the last time either.

They walked inside and Naruto basically carried her to her bed, as soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep. Walking back downstairs he flicked on the light. It was far to messy, even Tsunade had standards for cleanliness and this was not it. Bottles of sake, trash and cloths littered the room. A pain griped his chest when he realized that Jiraiya's death hat hit her harder then anyone had thought. Looking around her home he went to the pictures on her desk there was one of himself, Jiraiya and a man he didn't recognize. It was a team photo of Tsunade and two other people, she was hanging off of his arm and it was apparent that they had been in a relationship. This must have been the man that she once loved. He knew that a person close to her had died a long time ago. To loose another person even after all these years….

He set the photo down and went for the front door but stopped before he closed the door. "Goodnight Tsunade." He said a pain still lingering in his chest.

….

Thanks for reading

Sorry for being late with this one, I had righters block.

I have made a commitment to at the very least get two chapters done a week. But if you would like to see more then that favorite, follow or comment.

If someone would like to Beta my story that would help a lot. So if you are interested just PM me.


	7. Chapter 7

A Long Road Ch 7

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 7: The Cave

5 months after Naruto left Konoha.

Naruto opened his eyes, a dim glow emanated from the other side of the room. Turning his head he could see that a fire was burning in the hearth of a fireplace. Despite the thick blanket that was covering him he still felt a chill run up his spine. Moving to stand his body sent a shot of pain from his arms and legs. He couldn't remember how he arrived here; thinking back he could faintly remember a battle. But with whom? The memories slowly trickled back into his mind. The fish-man? There was someone else there to, a man dressed in black. He must have been the one to bring him here.

Since Naruto couldn't move he took the time to observe his whereabouts. From the seamless stonewalls he figured that he was in a cave; there were a few candles scattered around the space but not much else to see. There was a desk in the corner, a chair, one dresser and another bed all of witch looked to be hand made. The cave was much bigger than Naruto had ever seen with walls that stretched just over 20 meters from side to side, and the roof was 4 meters tall.

He realized that the man in black was nowhere to be seen. For whatever reason the man had left, Naruto had decided it would be best to leave before he returned. Stretching his aching joints he was able to sit upright on the bed. Judging from the withering fire he knew that the man could come back any time now, in a rush he stood before he was ready and fell to his knees. "Damn-it." He cursed, he was hurting enough as it was without falling and scraping himself. He heard foot steps coming from the mouth of the cave; he panicked and his eyes grew wide looking around he could se there was nowhere to hide.

He stood there and waited for what was to come. If he needed to fight he didn't think he could win, not in his condition. The man entered and they locked eyes for a moment. "Your awake." He noted. Naruto didn't respond just stood there unsure of what to say. The man nodded as if understanding what was going through his head. "Would you like something to eat? Its fresh." Walking over to the fire he dropped a dead buck at his feet and sat in the chair. If Naruto moved now he would be able to run for the entrance and escape. But he didn't. He felt no foul intent from the strange man sitting in the chair. His stomach growled and Naruto sat on the edge of the bed once again. "I'm guessing that means yes." He said pulling out his knife and reaching for the buck. Naruto supposed that it couldn't hurt to get a free meal. "You have been out for two weeks. I'm surprised you aren't lying down I've given you water but I cant force you to eat while you were sleeping." Naruto had noticed that he felt faint when he woke up and the hunger had started to creep in for a couple of minutes now.

When it was cooked they both sat in silence by the fire. Naruto quickly downed his first helping and then continued to eat greedily. It tasted better then anything he had ever eaten in his life. "My name is Deus." He spoke not looking directly at Naruto. Naruto stopped eating for a moment peering at the man known as Deus. "Naruto." Was all he said. "So you can speak." The insignificant comment made Naruto grin. It had been a while since anyone had talked to anyone and this man seemed friendly enough. Content with the silence both men enjoyed the rest of the meal.

Afterward Naruto went back to his bed still not completely rested from his fourteen-day nap. It had been two weeks. Naruto was sure that Jiraiya was not coming back from his fight to get him. Maybe it was shock but he felt no need to cry for his masters' loss. Instead a strange feeling of uneasiness came over him. "Do you have anywhere to go?" Deus said breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. "No." "Well you can stay here for as long as you need to if you don't mind doing a few things to help out." Naruto nodded. How would he go back to the leaf with Jiraiya dead and nothing to show for his time? The truth was that he blamed himself for what happened and didn't feel like he could go back until he became strong; strong enough to defeat the Akatsuki. A thought collected in his mind and he turned to Deus. "My master died in the forest a while back." Deus looked over at Naruto "I'm sorry to hear that." Naruto walked over to him and bowed deeply. "Will you train me? Please! I have nowhere else to go!" Deus grinned and looked down at the boy, thinking about the proposition. "How far are you willing to go?" "I'll do anything you say!" Deus could see that true determination burned within the boy. Would he be able to over come his right of passage and become his apprentice? "How much do you remember about the battle with the man Kisame?" Naruto looked up at Deus. "Everything." "In his final moments do you remember the pain that gripped him?" "Yes" he replied. Deus paused for a moment and continued "If you want to become my disciple you will need to abandon your current power otherwise I can not help you. But you must understand that it comes with a great price and first you must experience a pain that only a few people alive have lived through. Do you still wish to continue?" "….Yes." Naruto spoke his voice filled with conviction. "Good, give me some time to prepare we will start in an hour."

…

Deus had prepared a chalk seal on the floor; it was unlike anything Naruto has seen in Konoha. It appeared to be based off of a circle on the outer layer with many symbols on the inside and out. Most of the seals in the ninja world were based on formulas and chakra paper but Naruto could not see the power source. It just all looked like gibberish to him.

"What is this for?" Deus looked at Naruto seriously. "It is to keep the demon inside you at bay so I can deal with it after the transformation." Naruto looked shocked "How did you know?" "I can feel it living within you. When your chakra is gone the monster inside will also change and the seal caging it will no longer be effective. I will need to create another after you have stabilized but until then the seal on the floor will stop it from coming out." Naruto was getting nervous for the task at hand, Deus had explained that at first it would feel great. He would feel invincible but within a short time the chakra receptors would be overwhelmed and the pain would feel like nothing he had experienced in his life. It would be as if he was doused in fuel and set ablaze. It would last for three days and in the end he may not survive like many others before him.

"Its time." Deus announced finishing the seal on the floor. Naruto took a position sitting in the center of the circle. Naruto remembered Kisame before he had died, he had had his neck cut open and he didn't seem to feel a thing. Was the pain rally that great? "No mater what happens you must stay strong. This pain is only temporary and when it is over you will feel normal. The power to influence energy around you and within you will be yours, and whatever you do over the next three days you must not leave the seal. Got that?" "Yes." The seal began to glow brightly Naruto felt like he was more powerful then he had ever been. He began to think that this wouldn't be so bad after all. Then the screaming began. For kilometers around the echo's of his voice sounded as if someone was dying a slow and very painful death.


	8. Chapter 8

A Long Road Ch 8

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 8: Assassination

…496, 497, 498, 499, 500. Naruto sat on the grass and took a long drink from his bottle, ever since he got back to the village his exercise had taken a back seat to settling in. He would do another set of pushups after his run, a few laps around the village would be enough. After a quick stretch he started to run at a pace that most would have considered sprinting, he admired the colour of the trees as he went. It was getting late in the year and some of the leaves had started to fall; if he wasn't so hot from his exercising he would have probably needed a thick sweater.

As he ran he couldn't help but think about Tsunade's condition. By the look of her apartment he was undoubtedly going through some emotional stress at the death of her dead friend. She may even be severely depressed for all he knew; all the time he had known her and he still could not read her feelings. He would need to talk to her today about a mission of some sort, if she was alone maybe he would confront her about what he had seen.

…..

When he approached Tsunade's office Shizune stood from her desk and greeted Naruto. "You got here just in time, I was just about to send for you. Lady Tsunade would like to see you in her office." Naruto would have liked to continue talking for a bit, but she was swamped in paper work and he wouldn't want to be a nuisance. He entered her office and noticed there were several people in the room Shikamaru, Kiba and Asuma. Tsunade was sitting at her desk "Naruto come, I was just briefing them on your mission." "My Mission?" Naruto questioned approaching her desk. "Yes you and Kiba will be running support for Shikamaru and Asuma on an assassination mission. Security is tight so if anything goes wrong you will need to step in and get them out safely." Naruto was taken off balance at the sudden news. "That wont be a problem." "Good. You will leave in the morning before dawn. Now if you will all excuse me I have some work to do." She said dismissing them. They all bowed and turned to leave. "Oh and by the way Naruto," he looked back to face her "failure is not an option." (I know that sounds cliché.)

Asuma came up to Naruto after they had exited the room "Naruto tomorrow you will need to brief me on your strengths in the field. If I cant asses your skills It may cause trouble for the hole group so think about that carefully." "Yes sir." Asuma turned to leave but stoped "And Kakashi told me to tell you that you're a chunin now. Congrats."

…..

Sorry for the short chapter. The next one will be much longer.

I have made a commitment to at the very least get two chapters done a week. But if you would like to see more then that favorite, follow or comment.

If someone would like to Beta my story that would help a lot. So if you are interested just PM me.


	9. Chapter 9

A Long Road Ch 9

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 9: Burying Bodies

The night air was cool against Naruto's skin as he walked to the front gate. He had no idea what he was expecting on his new assignment, but whatever the circumstance he would have to be prepared. Instead of the sword that was normally strapped across his back was the rifle he had been working on.

Approaching the gate he could see that Asuma and Kiba had already arrived. "Where is Shikamaru?" Kiba turned to look at Naruto. "He's probably still sleeping, the lazy bastard." Naruto didn't need to be the smartest person in the world to know that Kiba was obviously not a morning person. "So what are the details on the mission?" he asked Asuma. "Assassination of a low rank government official north of Kumogakarue." (Village of lightning) "Any idea what we want him dead for?" "He has some information that we cant allow to fall into the wrong hands. But that was all the information I was given on the subject." Naruto was puzzled; usually ANBU would handle assassinations, so why weren't they assigned to the task? Just then Shikamaru came dragging his feet over to the group. "What took you so long?" barked Kiba. "My alarm went off late. So is everyone ready to go?" Naruto and Kiba nodded but Asuma spoke up "Before we leave I need to make one thing clear. We are not officially going in to Kumogakarue, and if we are caught we cannot request political aid form the village. Once we go in we will be on our own and no one will come to help if we are in danger. Got that?" Everyone agreed as they started to grasp the magnitude of the situation. "Now I will need your head bands so no one can identify us with Konoha." They complied and Asuma gave the markers to a guard at the gate who had been notified before hand. Without a word they departed down the road to Kumogakarue.

…..

4 days had past since they left the village and all conversation had been worn down to talking about the weather. The only one who was even mildly energetic was Kiba who had Akamaru to keep him company. Truth be told the group didn't have much in common except for Shikamaru and Asuma, and they spent most of the time playing Shogi. Naruto kept to himself most often keeping his gear maintained and polished occasionally looking in his spell book and righting notes.

When the journey began they had gone through Otogakarue (sound country) to find a ship that would take them to Kumogakarue undetected, from there they would make there way to the target and retrieve the sensitive information before he could get it to his superiors. It was a task that had a iron clad deadline, but they had no idea when that would be.

Naruto leaned over the side of the boat looking out over the ocean; unfortunately the fog was thick today so visibility was just over a kilometer. It would be helpful for slipping in without notice. Sliding out of the mist was land; he heard a call from the cabin informing them that they would be at the dock soon. As they approached the dock Naruto noticed that harbor was long abandoned and in need of some serious repair.

As the boat docked Kiba walked up behind Naruto and taped him on the shoulder. "Asuma wants to give us a final briefing before we go." Naruto nodded silently. They met down away form the ship so no one could hear them. Once everyone was accounted for Asuma spoke. "Our first stop will be a small town 5 kilometers north east from here. We will gather supplies and head for the targets location, which will be a 2-day's walk. Kiba if you or Akamaru smell anything alert us imminently. When we arrive Shikamaru will need to draw up a plan as soon as possible so we can neutralize the target. Naruto what kind of support can you give?" He hadn't anticipated being put on the spot like that and he stood silent for a moment. "Long range support or if we can get him out in the open I can take him down. I can also fight close range if need be." "Good. Now lets go we have a long walk ahead of us."

The seriousness of the situation sunk in quickly for the group as they all thought about it. If they were noticed by opposing forces they would have only themselves to look to for help. Kiba and Naruto were the only ones with a good amount of offensive techniques and would likely be the first ones to fall in a battle if it came to that.

No one talked as they traveled toward the first point in their real journey. The village would only be a short stop for food and anything they needed. All the same they would keep it low profile and hopefully the wrong people would not notice them. After that camping a few miles out of town would be safe enough. Shikamaru was the one they sent into town being the least recognizable of them all. Shikamaru thought that Naruto made a strange request when he asked him to find some refined led ore. Unfortunately there was none to be found but Naruto said it would not be a problem.

…

Later that night when the fire had died and no longer emulated the tents Naruto was the only one not asleep. He had the first watch and had not awakened Kiba for his shift even when it was overdue by 3 hours. He didn't want to overburden them when he could stay up for days at a time. A useful skill that had paid off more times then he could count.

He heard something faint. Footsteps off in the distance. "Crap." He muttered to himself. The moon wasn't out tonight so visibility was about 4 meters at its best, but he could tell that they couldn't be more then 100 meters away. He through a blanket over the glowing coals of the fire and completely silently moved up to where they were. His back to a thick tree the figures (3 or 4 of them) passed by unnoticing. He peered out and saw that they were four ninja; a Jonin among them and three others, nothing special. Heading towards the camp they showed no sign of changing course. He had no choice but to kill them now before things got worse. Naruto pulled out his combat knife and rubbed some dark ash on it that he had taken from the fire.

They obviously weren't expecting a fight because there formation was nonexistent, one was trailing a few steps back from two others, a boy and girl who seemed to interested in talking quietly about gossip, they followed a Jonin. Naruto ran up without a sound and grabbed the straggler by the mouth hugging him close and driving the six inch blade in below his Adams Apple it stuck out the back of his neck severing his spinal cord. The blade had been so sharp that it had barley made a sound, no one noticed. He laid the body on the ground gently and advanced with keeping a moderate distance. The girl seemed to notice the lack of sound coming from behind them and turned her head before Naruto could hide. "Shit!" she exclaimed startled. She had turned and jumped backwards away from him. Her friend was not so lucky and did not react quickly enough as Naruto ran forward and jammed the blade into his temple. The knife was now stuck in some thick bone Naruto could tell by the resistance and the sound it made when the man died. There was no time to pull the knife free and he charged directly at her tilting his body forward gaining force in his stride. Now she was back up to a tree with her kuni out. He grabbed it with his left gantlet and her head with his right smashing her cranium to the tree. The back collapsed and when he let go gore fell from the hole that was almost held together by loose flesh. The Jonin leader tackled Naruto to the ground and was about to plunge a kuni into his chest but Naruto grabbed his wrist. Struggling both of them pushed the weapon away from themselves and at the other. Finally after a drawn out struggle Naruto pushed the man off of him and jumped to his feet. The Jonin was getting to his feet when Naruto kicked him in the jaw. The man fell on his back and the tables were turned. He kicked the kuni out of his hand and pounced on top of him pinning one arm with his knee. Naruto sent punch after punch at his face and he put up his free arm to block desperately. He didn't stop punching until the Jonin stopped moving.

He dragged each of the mutilated corpses back to the camp and into a pile. Blood still dripping from his clothes all that crossed his mind was "Damn that was messy." Then looked around and found that the fight had awakened no one. He searched the Jonin and found a scroll describing their mission, they were not expected back for a day and a half which was plenty of time to leave this area, but after that they may be in for a bit of trouble. Burying the bodies would give them a bit more time to avoid tracker ninja but leaving the country may be more difficult then they originally planed.

He walked over to Kiba's tent and woke him with a shake. "Is it my shift?" he said in a sleepy mumble. "Ya but first you need to help me with something." They both exited the tent and Kiba was shocked. "What the fuck? Did you do this?" he said a little off put by the gore and blood. "They got to close." He said as if that was all the explanation needed. "Now help me bury them." the next while was spent in a silence. "How did you get all of them without waking us? These two look beat to death." Kiba asked with a guilty curiosity. Naruto told him what happened without much detail and they pushed the bodies into the hole, Naruto retrieved the knife out of the man's head letting the wait of the body dislodge it with the fall. The sickening noise it made caused Kiba to cringe but Naruto didn't seem to notice. They piled the dirt on top and packed it down to make it look natural. There were still dark red patches scattered on spots where the grass had died long ago.

They restocked the fire both unable to sleep, and sat on the tree trunk adjacent to it. Kiba looked up at Naruto. "So how did you learn to fight? Once Jiraiya passed I mean." He said. Naruto looked up pondering weather to tell him or not. He couldn't keep his past to himself forever. "Where to begin?"

…..

Thanks for reading

I would like to say that despite the extreme lateness of this chapter I have not lost interest. I was rushing my self most of the time and felt like I painted myself in to a corner.

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	10. Chapter 10

A Long Road Ch 10

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 10: The Abyss

He woke up slowly, disoriented and confused. His entire body was engulfed in pain, but it almost seemed relaxing compared to what he had experienced when he was last conscious. He could barely blink or breathe without hot agony coursing through him down to his bones. He sat there for hour's maybe days but it was hard to tell. After a long time he realized that certain places all over his body were numb, almost like they had been cut away from the rest of his form. There were more then a few dozen scattered around his body and the patches of numb flesh burned around the edges more then the other parts of his figure. He had tried to count all of them with his senses because he couldn't move, but he could never get past 23 before he lost track. He had a hard keeping his mind on track and anything more then basic thoughts gave him a headache.

After what he considered a day and a half he was able to grasp his thoughts more fully. The pain had dulled but only slightly, and he was able to turn his head to the side of the bed without his body screaming at him quite so badly as it had before. Deus was sleeping on the bed across the cavern. Naruto had not heard him move since he had awakened. He looked to the floor to see that in the place of the seal that occupied the space earlier was now a patch of rock that had become molten and then cooled over the course of time when he had been asleep. He drifted into sleep against his will.

…

The next time he opened he eyes he was well enough to limp around. Deus was gone but he had left a cane for Naruto to use. Observing the patch of super heated and cooled rock he noticed that there were some irregularities in its mostly smooth surface. The place where he had been when the seal started was angled into a pit, it was shallow but deep enough for someone to stumble over if they weren't paying attention. At the lip of the depression the ground was raised no more then the thickness of his hand. The rest of the rock was covered in seemingly random bumps and grooves that were caused by the movement of the lava when it was active.

He pulled up the shirt he was wearing and looked at the numb patches that he noticed before. The patch of skin was completely black and dead. "Fuck." Naruto muttered worried. He could tell that it had become smaller while asleep; he had always been a fast healer.

The light emanating form the mouth of the cave was appealing to him, he had not seen outside since he had arrived and his curiosity was peeked. As he approached the opening the wall of light that blocked his vision was blinding, but when he broke the surface his eyes quickly adjusted. Deus was siting in a wicker chair that was crudely hand made, enjoying the scenery of the forest that surrounded a small clearing of land where the cave was situated. He turned to Naruto and smiled. "Welcome back." Naruto had never noticed what Deus had looked like before. Of course he had seen him but had never taken in how strange looking he was; well most of him was normal but his skin was a pale almost snow white, and his eyes were a deep shade of red that reminded him of fresh blood. Perhaps the shock of Jiraiya's death had made him numb to some details that had surrounded him.

"How are you feeling?" Deus spoke waiting for him to say something. When he tried to speak his voice failed him. Clearing his lungs he spoke in a rough tone "_Like shit."_ Well it looked like his vocal cords still had not recovered form all the screaming. "Good to hear. When your better are you ready to start training?" Not wanting to strain his cords he just nodded in conformation.

…

The next few days went slowly, Naruto rested most of the time and Deus was nowhere to be found; he didn't talk about where he went and Naruto didn't ask even if he wondered. Trust was one thing he had for the man but only because he did not know much else. The black dead flesh withered and faded away and with it so did all his sense of Chakra; it was a strange and empty feeling he was not use to. But something new filled him; gradually he began to feel something he had never experienced. Something he couldn't describe with words but could feel more clearly then anything around him. If he could tell someone what it was he could only say that it was a warm feeling but also dead and empty at the same time.

A day later it was time to start becoming strong under the guidance of Deus. Naruto heard a call for him to come out of the cave and when he did he saw Deus standing waiting for him. "Sit Naruto." Was all he said and Naruto obeyed him. They both took a seat on the ground and stared at each other. "Can you feel it?" Deus asked. "Ya." "I need you to know that I will not let you back inside until you can do what I ask of you, I will also need you to stay in this clearing. Do you understand?" Naruto only nodded silently. Deus then brought out his hand palm up and closed it, seconds later he opened it again and produced a small jet black crystal. "This is the physical manifestation of the power the flows through us." Deus handed the small stone to Naruto and he observed it. The crystal was about a centimeter thick and was no longer then one of his fingernails, both ends narrowed into a sharp point that pricked his finger when he lightly touched it. "If you can draw the power from this crystal then the first step to grasping it will be in your hands." Without another word Deus stood and walked to the mouth of the cave staring out at him.

…

Naruto was stretched out on his back looking up at the sky, the crystal sat in his open right hand. Four days of sitting out in the freezing cold of the approaching winter had zapped his strength. He tilted his head to the side to see Deus sitting at the cave where he lived. He had not moved since the challenge began. Naruto wondered if Deus was just waiting for the moment when he would break and ask to be let into the cave. Was this just a test to see how far he could go? No that wasn't it, Deus had been sitting there the entire time, never taking his eyes off him; he was waiting for something to happen. What? What was it he was supposed to do with this useless rock? He had tried everything to get it to do something. His last attempt was to force it under his skin to see if it would react with his power unconsciously, but nothing had worked. He held it up the light of the moon but it did not twinkle despite its somehow glossy look.

He was furious at Deus for putting him out here with out telling him anything. This was a waist of time and they both knew it. He would never be able to save Sasuke because he was too weak, and he always had been. He had let down his friends and there was no way to recover from what Deus had done to him. He thought of Sakura standing there in front of him pleading for him to bring Sasuke home. Closing his eyes the last bit of hope slipped through his fingers and tears rolled down his face. It was over, his life was pointless and if he died out here he would not have cared.

A tingling feeling made his right hand itch. Then it felt warm but also dead and empty. His eyelids shot open and looked at his palm, it was gone. A grin sprouted and the tears stopped. He looked over at Deus but he was nowhere to be seen, and neither was anything else. A dark abyss stretched for an eternity in all directions, never stopping, never wavering. He stood and looked into it not blinking. He could feel something there; he could tell it was aware of him but not how he knew that. A deep fear griped him like nothing before, invading the far corners of his mind and body. He could feel the intent of the mysterious form that hid in the darkness, it was coming from all directions and felt like he was stuck under water.

He wanted to call for Deus but the air in his lungs seemed to be frozen under the fear of what was happening. For a long time he stood there waiting for something, but nothing came. His eyes darted from side to side but it was futile, there was nothing to see in the darkness. Every way he turned he could feel whatever it was looking back at him just beyond his vision. Naruto realized that the thing watching him was the abyss. Once more he looked into the blackness and this time the feeling was closer then ever, it was almost suffocating. He felt bare and open to the abyss, all his feeling and thoughts were reviled to it and there was nothing he could do to stop it. But the abyss didn't care, that much was clear to Naruto. He was nothing more then a fly on the wall compared to it.

All at once the abyss was gone like it had never existed. He was looking up at the night sky. Deus was standing there looking down at him. "Did you see it?" "Ya." Naruto replied. They walked back to the cave and fell asleep.

"When you look into the abyss the abyss looks into you."-Friedrich Nietzsche

…..

thanks for reading.


	11. Chapter 11

A Long Road Ch 11

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 11: Winter & The City

Fresh snow coated the surface of the ground. The weather had finally taken a turn for the worse and even with the fire burning strongly in the cave Naruto still needed an extra layer of clothing. Sitting by the blaze helped to warm the boy but the compromise was having to tolerate the thick smoke. It collected heavily at the tall roof of the under ground space and a small opening Naruto couldn't see let it out somewhere.

"Time to go!" Deus called outside the cave. Naruto closed his jacket and got to his feet. Leaving the warmth of the fire he shivered, it must have been at least negative fifteen outside if he had to guess. Walking out into the light of the day he took a look at the tall cliff that housed them. The smoke from the fire could not be seen from where he was; wherever it let out didn't matter. He turned to Deus who was wearing his normal long black trench coat, over his shoulder he carried a large pack that had seen better days. "So what is it like there?" Naruto asked excited. "Like any major city's I suppose. Busy, dirty, corrupt politically, most of the stuff you would expect." "Then why are we going if its so shity?" Deus looked at Naruto thoughtfully. "I have taught you all that I can this way, with just the two of us. But if you want to get some experience you need to fight against someone with your level of talent, someone who won't hold back because they might hurt you." Naruto grinned at that; his confidence in his own abilities was unquestioned in his mind. In fact Deus was also confident in him as well; from what he knew Naruto had been above average in his country, but he had been extremely adept in the fighting styles of this one. Deus started to walk into the forest, and Naruto followed.

….

Noise flooded his ears; it was so loud he could hardly hear himself think. The roar of the endless current of people washed over him and it did not show any sign of letting up. This was a larger city then Naruto had ever seen in his life, and even if he didn't like to admit it, for some reason that he could only describe as pride, it was much bigger then the leaf.

Naruto stuck close to Deus for fear of being swept away, not that it was much of a problem. For some reason people seemed to avoid them, it was like a bubble that went unseen but kept the crowd at bay. They traveled to a district that was littered with blacksmiths on every street corner. This was where people went to buy weapons and fight for money; or so Deus explained. They came to a mid sized arena surrounded by rows upon rows of ever-elevated seats. It could have fit around a thousand people, maybe more. They walked into the opening and headed to a podium with a long line of people, each looked like they could kill a person just by looking at them. A much younger person ranging from 13 to 17 by the look of them accompanied each these menacing figures.

Deus walked to the back of the line and when the hulking man just in front of them turned to see who was behind him a look of disgust appeared in a flash. The man moved aside to let them pass, a guarding hand in front of his young companion to shield her from some evil that may try to do harm. "Thank you." Deus said. The rest of the line went like that until they got to the front. Muttering's of "The demons" whispered behind them. Maybe it was Deus's eyes that scared them Naruto reasoned.

At the front of the line they were once again greeted with the look of disgust. "Competition?" the old man spoke in a tone that suggested he couldn't be bothered. "Hand to hand." "Ok. Go to the left entrance and wait. The matches will start in three hours."

They made there way to a small room with one other door. "This is as far as I go with you Naruto." He pulled out some clothing and handed it to him. "Ill be watching from the stands but what comes next is all up to you. Now put than on and go through that door when you are ready." As Deus took his leave Naruto stood in silence. He looked at the clothing his master had left to him. The gloves were fingerless but reached up past his wrist and mid way to his elbow; the back of his arm was covered in metal beads and his knuckles were both covered with one metal plate for each. His short sleeve shirt had armored shoulders and a thick leather under weave. His pants were much the same with metal knee caps.

The nervousness griped his chest as he went to leave. What would happen if he failed? The disappointment of his master was something that he feared more then broken bones. He took serial deep breaths and told himself he would need to win. He pushed open the door.

…..

Thanks for reading.

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	12. Chapter 12

A Long Road Ch 12

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 12: Fluster Cucked

The sun illuminated the sky dimly as Kiba made faint growling sounds in his sleep. All that remained of the fire was a few hot coals that refused to give in to the frigid morning air. Naruto's eyes opened half way and he stood and stretched his still sleeping muscles. Kicking Kiba gently in the shin he regained consciousness as well, the dog whisperer called to his loyal hound and Akamaru limped out of the tent. After waking Asuma and Shikamaru they snuffed out the fire and packed up there camp.

Naruto looked at Kiba and grinned; it had felt good to get some of the wait off of his shoulders by telling what happened after he had left. "Did Akamaru bury something in the night?" Asuma asked looking at the small mound of fresh dirt. "There was a little trouble last night. I took care of it." Naruto replied. Asuma looked serious "How many?" "Four. The message they were carrying said the were due back in a few days." "Well," said Asuma letting out a long breath "we will need to make this quick. How long do we have?" "Five days at the most maybe sooner." "We need to get to the village ahead of schedule. If they find these bodies sooner then we expect then the assassination happens it will probably lead the to the abandoned docks. Its well known that the area is used for smuggling." Everyone agreed and quickly headed off as fast as they could.

…..

There was a small mountain about three kilometers from the village where their target was situated. About half way up a cave just big enough to hold all three of them would be the base camp for this operation. Luckily the cave was opposite to the town so if they needed to start it wouldn't be seen.

As Naruto walked into the rock inlet fond memories flooded his mind. It wasn't nearly as big as the one that Deus had lived in, but all the same he couldn't help but feel a tinge of nostalgia.

"Do we know where the target is?" asked Shikamaru. "No. The only thing that we know about him is that he is visiting the town on temporary basis, and that he is a semi well know politician." Said Asuma. Naruto spoke up having finally had enough of the mystery surrounding this mission. "What is this rely about Asuma?" "Naruto?" was his only reply. "I'm asking why we were chosen for this mission. Assassination is usually reserved for ANBU, and even if for some reason we were picked why is it that we were assigned to such a high profile target? We weren't given any details, most likely for the chance that we were caught. This all seems a little much for a team that has no reason to be doing this sort of thing." Asuma thought at this for a moment. "Fine. The truth is Naruto that ANBU is a little short handed at the moment. Now I'm not sure of all the details, but it seems that most of them are called away at the moment. I couldn't say why, that kind of thing is above me." Naruto still wasn't satisfied with the vague answer, but it was all he could get at the moment so he would have to be. "It doesn't matter now." Shikamaru interjected. "We were given the mission and I for one plan on completing it." Feeling a little left out Kiba felt he should say something. "So how do we find this guy? It will be hard to ask around with out drawing attention." "He's right. If we draw attention to ourselves then it could make thing more complicated then this needs to be." Shikamaru analyzed the situation and added, "I think Naruto should go. He looks a little suspicious but he doesn't look like a ninja. If one of us went with a jutsu to hide our appearance we could still get noticed by someone with a trained eye." Everyone looked at Naruto. It was decided.

…..

He walked into the town with nothing but a pack on his back and the knives in his belt. The sun had disappeared over the horizon and dark storm clouds were moving in form the opposite direction. It would rain tonight.

The first thing he would need to find was someone who was savvy with happenings in the town. Going to a public place would help with that, maybe a bar. Still he couldn't go just anywhere; a place that was frequented by ninja would be preferable, that would also be very risky. Somewhere popular would definitely have a few ninja mixed in with the crowd. It was getting to that time of night where everyone was going with there friends to have a drink.

It took him no more then ten minutes to find such a place. He had followed a "hip" group from a distance until they led him to "pLACE". Just from reading the name he could tell that this was where everyone who was anyone went. There was a line a mile long but he was willing to bet that there was a door in the back, and the lock wouldn't give him much trouble.

Once inside he put on his mask, a metaphorical mask that is. The look on his face told everyone that he was ready to mingle and enjoy the night. He took a sat at the crowded bar and ordered a light beer. He had a strong tolerance for alcohol but depending on how long he was staying the drinks might affect him. He was attractive enough for several girls to approach him and he had joined a few groups of people but no one seemed to fit what he was looking for.

Finally out of the background he heard what he had been searching for. He looked over to see a group of people standing next to the bar. He needed to introduce himself somehow. He saw an attractive woman with them; brown short hair, average height with a slightly muscular build. He greeted her warmly and they got to talking. As it happened, she was one of the people who were in charge of making preparations for the arrival of one powerful political official. This was perfect for him. The job was so hard however that she was planning to leave on her next payday. Further questioning went nowhere however; she had hated it so much that she avoided the topic at all costs.

Thunder struck and the lights went out. The sound had been so great that all voices dropped down to a low whisper. She said that it was about time that she headed home. He couldn't let her leave just yet; there was more that he needed to know. She was insistent on leaving but when he asked her if she wanted to go back to his place the answer was almost instant. Yes.

They made there was outside and the rain was coming down so hard that they could barley hear each other. Naruto had rented a room at a hotel just before he went to the club just for a situation like this. Of course he had no intent to sleep with her, but if things didn't start going smoothly he knew that things might get… messy. Once in Naruto's room she insisted on freshening up. Good. Time to think was just what he needed. It would be difficult to get any information out of her seeing as she hated her job. Restraining her and interrogation would be an acceptable option; however killing her didn't appeal to him in the slightest. But it wasn't like he could leave her to reveal someone was willing to tie her down and hurt her to get information on her employer.

He walked over to the window and closed the curtains. Even inside the sounds of the storm were defining; if she called for help no one would hear her. He moved over to the door and locked the dead bolt as well as the chain. His head hit the door with enough force to create a dent in the wood. He leaned against the door and slid to his knees, he twisted his body to sit with his back to it. The woman he had brought here had delivered a solid blow to the back of his neck, and was now standing over him. He had not heard the bathroom door open or her walk up behind him. She quickly kicked him in the face and he blacked out.

…..

He woke tied up tightly to a chair. Dazed and disoriented he looked around. He was still in the apartment, and the girl was nowhere to be seen. He was Fluster Cucked. No. That wasn't right. The haze over his mind hadn't lifted quite yet. He looked over at the door to see it was unlocked; had she just tied him up and left? Struggling to get his arms free Naruto noticed that his left hand was a little loose. Working on it for just over a minute he looked up again to see the door handle turn. "Fuck."

Two people walked into the room to see Naruto still passed out, his head limp and hanging. "This was what you brought me here for? Did you want me to help get rid of him or something?" "Just listen for a sec'. He was asking about Bee." "So what? Everyone has been asking questions about him lately." "Ya but he's due to arrive tomorrow, and look at this guy he's obviously a spy!" "How can you tell that just by how he looks?" "I found this in his pocket!" "A coupon? Hmm…well it is from the fire country village."

Crap. This was perfect, just fucking perfect. But he knew the situation wasn't all bad. From what he had heard the only people who knew about him were here, and he got the name of the person he was looking for. If he could escape and take care of both of them, he would be home free. He could also tell by there voices that they were both women; the one that brought here and another.

"Well I guess ill question him." The other said. A hard slap to the face that was supposed to wake him brought his head up. He played the role acting startled and confused. With every question they asked he gave a time consuming answer; all that he needed was enough time to get one of his arms loose. He could have tried to break loose with a shock wave but his wrists would slap like twigs.

They turned around to speak in the next room; this was a good a chance as any to get free. He managed to slip his left hand out of the wrist restraint, and quickly started to untie his other, then his legs. "Oh fuck!" the other said turning back into the room. With only one leg free he didn't have much of a chance to fight. Gathering the energy in his ankle he unleashed it with a force that turned the fibers of the thick rope into pulp, and the wood of the chair into spinters. There was also a sickening crack signifying the damage in his lower leg.

With out missing a second she pulled out a kuni and ran at him. He needed a weapon quickly. The first strike he managed to redirect but the second dug into the soft tissue below his left shoulder. Thanks to the momentum she had used and Naruto's broken ankle they fell in a storm of appendages. Limbs interlocked they continued to struggle. He grabbed a kuni from her pouch, and gained the advantage by rolling on top of her. Rearing back his hand he aimed the knife at her neck, but a swift kick to the head by the woman he had brought here sent him to the floor; the kuni had missed by inches and stuck out of the floor just out of reach.

"Aika, don't get involved! I can handle this!" the other women said. In Naruto's opinion she was being rather ungrateful considering Aika had saved her life, but now was not the time to think about being polite. She leapt to her feet and grabbed the kuni out of the floor. With his broken ankle he wasn't fast enough and was sent face first to the ground by a kick to his back. He rolled on his back and she was standing over him. Without thinking he stuck out his hand and sent a force that hurled her into the sealing. Bits of spackle from the roof rained down with her as she fell. She was knocked out by the sudden and powerful wave that had struck her. Getting to his feet Naruto limped over to Aika and put her to sleep with one punch.

…

Aika awoke completely restrained to a new chair with nothing more then a dark room and the raging storm outside. Screaming was no use, the storm would have been enough to silence her but the gag in her mouth made sure of it. Naruto walked out of the kitchen with a half eaten sandwich at the sound of her twice-muffled scream. He grabbed a chair and sat in it facing her. For a long time nothing was said as he finished his snack. To Aika the silence was agonizing; he only sat there looking at her with unfeeling eyes chewing.

Swallowing the last bite he looked at her strait in the eyes and said, "Ready to talk?" she gave no sign of conformation and he shrugged. "Well have it your way." He grabbed a pair of pliers off the ground and stuck one of her long fingernails between its grip. Another muffled scream filled the room and once again he stared into her eyes. "Ready to talk? We have all night for this."

….

Thanks for reading.

I felt that it was pretty dry in the last few chapters so I hope this was much more interesting.

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	13. Chapter 13

A Long Road Ch 13

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 13: Dark Tower

He slipped back into the forest that surrounded the village as if he had never been there at all. Well that wasn't all true; the two dead people that he had left behind were the only evidence, but he had sealed the bodies in plastic and melted the openings so they wouldn't smell when decomposing. He had also paid to stay 10 days so no one would go into the room; hopefully they would be gone long before that.

The trek up the small mountain was challenging with his broken ankle, and the gash in his shoulder wasn't to deep even if he had lost a lot of blood. The bandages helped but it was still leaking more then he would have preferred. Their base camp wasn't visible from the ground and he had a hard time finding it even when he knew he was close.

He limped into the opening and was greeted by a knife against his thought. "Shit, Naruto. You scared the crap out of me." Since he had left apparently Kiba had been assigned to guard the entrance. He pulled the knife away and studied his comrade. "What the fuck happened to you? Did you blow our cover or something?" Kiba complained. "No, but I'm fine thanks for asking." Naruto replied with spiteful sarcasm.

…

The ringing in his ears was unbearable and his eyes were open half way dully looking out over the chaos. What had happened to him? How did he get here? He sat up to see a barren desert for miles around. Putting his hand up to rub the side if his face he felt something warm and wet on his cheek. It was blood, but it wasn't his blood; he didn't look for any wounds he just knew it was the truth. This all seemed very familiar to him but he couldn't place it. Looking around he could see there was fresh blood soaked into the sand, and body parts, lots of them. Legs and arms severed crudely from there respective owners, he even saw a man lying in the carnage; well the top half of him at least. Giving more attention to the scenery he spotted something that puzzled him and shook him to his core at the same time. The man didn't have a face; it was as if the skin on his forehead had been pulled down seamlessly masking his features. He stood and walked over to him leaning down to examine his face. This was so familiar to him; it was on the edge of him mind refusing to spill over into reachable thought.

Around his neck was a dog tag, but just like the mans face it was a blur. Naruto felt much more willing to touch and examine it then the mans face and he picked it up. The words appeared the moment he tugged it off of the corps. "Corporal Dillon Smith 3rd Victor Company." Now he was sure that this was a dream. The ringing in his ears was beginning to subside. He looked to Dillon's face and he could see his features now. Cold dead eyes looked back at him never hesitating.

A sharp whistling noise caught his attention and he was struck down by a figure in white garments. The space he had occupied erupted with a blast of sand and pre-shredded gore. "Get the fuck on your feet private!" he looked over to see the woman that had saved him but her face was just like Dillon's had been; covered in the flesh mask. It was starting to come to him now; what was her name? "Angela?" she looked over at him and he could see her face now. This was a memory of the raid on one of the empires outposts during the war. Everything was so vivid he couldn't believe it was a dream. His company had been demolished by one of the enemy mortars during the battle. Naruto had been the only survivor of the 3rd but the outpost had been captured in the end.

The rest of Angela's team moved up to the position behind one of the dunes and she gave the orders. "We need to provide a distraction while the others sneak up from behind the enemy. Private you're with 2nd company now. Do you still have all your equipment?" "Yes." "Provide cover while we move up a bit." Naruto was left with two other men who were each given another pistol. They were single shot but easy to reload. Naruto cracked open both letting the front end hang from the hinge making sure they were loaded, he found the butt end of the bullet sticking out at him and with a flick of his wrist closed them again. The team was ten in total and the eight other members moved up leaving the three of them to provide fire.

The outpost they needed to capture was protected by a circle of concrete wall that was a little to high for someone to jump and reach the edge. The buildings inside were out of sight but a snipers nest in the middle of the compound rose above looking over the surrounding area. Solders would pop their heads up above the wall and fire on their attackers. Naruto was able to take down two of them before an explosion on the opposite side took their attention. The two men with him took the chance to run over the dune and charge the compound. One was struck down almost instantly and the blood from the exit wound hit Naruto in the face.

The other eight members of the team ran and pushed themselves flat against the wall. They set a pile of explosives and took cover at a safe distance. Once the makeshift doorway was opened they rushed inside and a volley of gunfire could be heard inside. He jumped up and ran for the opening as fast as he could. There wasn't much of a fight when he arrived inside, fire from both teams on either side cut down the enemy quickly. The eight that had rushed inside were now six; counting Naruto and the man he was with the team totaled eight once again. The other company took heavier losses and there were only five left.

That was when the dream seemed to pause. Everyone stopped moving and stood still. No one fired their weapons; they had also stopped breathing. He was the only one that still moved. Walking to the middle of the compound he did a quick 360 to take in the surroundings. But when he faced back at his team the wall behind had disappeared. Leaving nothing but open desert his allies were still there but they looked dead and pale. In the distance he could see a stone tower that looked pitch black. Suddenly the ground started to shake and what was left of the compound started to decay at unnatural speed. The sand around him was being drained into an unknown break in the ground underneath. Looking to the sky the sun had disappeared behind dark clouds. It began to rain but not with water; hundreds of dog tags came down. Stretching out his palm he caught a few of them, he looked and saw that each had a name he recognized. Bringing his head up he saw that the black tower in the distance was closer now, or maybe it was his imagination.

…..

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P.S

I've started a new story that I wont publish until its finished. So it may take longer to update this one sometimes.


	14. Chapter 14

A Long Road Ch 14

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 14: Ambush

This was the day to take action and move on the target. Asuma, Shikamaru and Kiba were mixed into the crowd of people that filled the street. They disappeared nicely in the black robes, going from stall to stall looking at the merchant's wares. Naruto was the only one that was not on the ground; he was set up at the end of the block under a green tarp with the rifle. This would be his first time using it on mission he hoped dearly that when he had forged the barrel he had not accidently curved it.

According to Naruto's "source" the target would make a stop on this street before the official business he had come here for. As far as they knew this would be the best chance to catch him off guard. Bee made his appearance within an hour of their stakeout. Three others accompanied him and there were probably more following. The ones he could identify as ninja were a blond, a redhead and another who seemed to be a little too relaxed.

Naruto pulled out his mirror and flashed the sunlight at Kiba who was stationed in an ally. Akamaru barked three times sharply and the three moved into position. Shikamaru was across the street and Asuma and Kiba on either side. Bee walked into a store that looked like it had not seen business in a very long time, but the three that were with him stood outside as guards. Shikamaru used his shadow technique to paralyze them discreetly. They struggled silently to be free of the trap but couldn't even manage to blink.

Some time had passed while they waited for Bee to reveal himself again. When he walked out of the shop Asuma quickly came up from behind drawing his trench knife and charging it with wind chakra. Bee must have sensed the spike of energy behind him because he twisted suddenly drawing one of his many blades. Asuma was able to cut through it like butter and Bee jumped back in retreat. He wasn't left with much room however as Kiba and Akamaru jumped transforming into two sharp cyclones.

By now the street had erupted in chaos as people ran for cover in shops and otherwise. Now that the area was clear Naruto could get a clear shot with his rifle; however his comrades were still to close to the target. A group of four ninja that had been escorting Bee from the shadows made themselves known. Naruto fired and pegged one on the shoulder. He popped another round into the barrel and adjusted the scope. The next shot buried itself into the chest of one of the enemies. With two down Naruto reloaded but it was late and they had already attacked Shikamaru. He had no choice but to relieve his hold on the three that were with Bee.

The next shot almost missed the redhead as she jumped toward Shikamaru hitting her around the hip. The odds were now five to four with the advantage against them. Noticing that Naruto was the greatest threat the other two Shikamaru had captured previously were now heading directly toward him. With his broken leg he wouldn't stand much of a chance in a fight. He fired the rifle rapidly but not a single shot connected, they were moving much to fast for him to be able any accuracy.

Naruto then got to his feet and drew his pistol waiting for them to arrive. Glancing back down at the battlefield he could see that Kiba and Asuma were having a hard time fighting Bee; it almost looked like the man was playing with them. Then Naruto's adversaries jumped to the roof, drawing their blades. He would need to make quick work of them so he could help the others. With his leg in its current condition he wouldn't be able to fight hand to hand or with his blades. "Surrender and we can make things easer for you." The blond one said in a professional tone. It was strange that she had made the offer considering that he had almost killed her teammate; perhaps she knew that they needed to take one alive and he was the best choice with his broken leg. However Naruto didn't say a word and stretched out his hand. They both made a move to attack him but he released the barley visible black crystals and they broke up and expanded with enough force to knock the blond woman off the building. Naruto was sent tumbling in the opposite direction avoiding the mans attack. Now pushed up with his back to the stairwell wall the man made another quick move in his direction before Naruto could right himself. He raised his pistol and pulled the trigger without hesitation. The bullet ripped through his right lung leaving him to fall to the ground gasping for air.

The blond jumped back to the roof and sprinted at Naruto once again. Another shot stopped her in her tracks as well, but instead of falling to the ground she solidified into a pool of water. Crap, how did he not notice a water clone? Before he had time to react a hit to the back of the neck disoriented him, and he fell to his hands and knees.

There was no good way to get out of this situation; looking around he could see that his rifle was still leaning against the ledge of the building. He started to crawl so it would seem like a weak attempt to get away from the fate that awaited him. She kicked him in the back before he could get to far forcing him to the ground. "Don't be so pathetic." She called. Quickly he reached forward grabbing the butt of the gun and spun around on his back. Using it as a club he wacked her in the side of the head and she stumbled once again he let the crystals form on his hand and sent the wave of pressure hurling toward her. She was lifted off her feet and sent crashing agents stairwell wall. She lost consciousness instantly.

Naruto crawled back to the ledge with the rifle in hand. However it was useless now; the long barrel had been bent when he hit the woman's head with it. Looking back at the fight below Shikamaru had dealt with the hidden guards and was now fighting along side the others. Bee was still making quick work of the attacks they were throwing at him. It was obvious to Naruto that they could not win like this, and with reinforcements no doubt on their way they didn't have much time to end this.

He slung the useless weapon on his back and jumped down letting his good leg take the brunt of the fall, and ran to their aid. As he approached he popped open his pistol and let the shells fall out and replaced them with two more. Fortunately Bee had his back turned when got close. He took aim and let a shot go. One of the giant daggers Bee held between his chin and neck shattered; the pistol could pack a punch but it was far from being accurate. Bee spun around to see Naruto. Just then realizing how big of a threat Naruto was he decided to get serious. Bee moved faster than anyone thought he could and punched Naruto in the chest sending him to the ground gasping. Running over he stood over Naruto ready to crush his scull in, but before he could manage Kiba came up from behind preforming a double fang with Akamaru. Bee twisted lashing out with one of his daggers slicing Kiba's left side around the gut, he then jumped back distancing himself from his attackers and avoiding Akamaru's strike.

Getting to his feet Naruto and Bee locked eyes daring the other to make the first move. Neither got the chance as twenty mist ninja rounded the corner on Bee's side. Asuma called to fall back and dropped a rather large smoke bomb that filled the street. As the cloud surrounded Naruto he did not drop his gaze, and neither did Bee. They had underestimated his strength, a mistake they wouldn't have a chance to fix.

…

First chapter in a while, sorry about that. It took me some time to put this together but the next chapter will be within a week.

I skipped the first part of this chapter just because I wanted this part of the story to end. Just to make things clear this takes place after the dream sequence in the last chapter.

If you have a comment on how I wright or where I should go with the story please tell me through the comments.

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